Combined mouth-prop, tongue-protector, &amp;c., for dental use.



PATENTED SEPT. 27, 1904,

W. HARE.

COMBINED MOUTH PROP, TONGUE PROTECTOR, &0., FOR DENTAL USE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1903.

NO MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented September 27, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HARE, OF DANVILLE, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,853, dated September 27, 1904.

Application filed November 7, 1903. Serial No. 180,278. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I,W1LLIAM HARE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Danville, in the county of Vermilion and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Mouth-Prop, Tongue- Protector, and Lip-Distender for Use in Dental Work; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and correct description of the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in a certain combined mouth-prop, lip-distender, and tongue-protector for use in dental work; and the construction herein shown is an improvement upon the device covered by Letters Patent No. 735,762 issued to me on the 11th day of August, A. D. 1903. I

The object of this invention is to provide a device simple in its construction,formed from a single plate of metal,and dispensing with the wire brackets used in my former invention covered by Letters Patent No. 7 35,7 62, and is designed to hold the jaws of the patient apart and the mouth open for the pupose of allowing dentists using the same in an operation a better opportunity to operate on the front teeth of such patient, said device having lipdistender and tongue-protector and allowing the operator free use of both hands in his work and also to relieve the strain upon the muscles of the patients jaws resulting from holding them wide apart during an operation by allowing the teeth to rest firmly upon the wings 2, hereinafter designated.

The above object is attained by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a perspective or front view of the device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation showing the device in the mouth. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the device. Fig. 4 is a plane view showing one of the projecting distenders separated from the device.

1 designates a mouth-prop, which is a plate formed out of one piece of suitable metal concave and oval at each end. Projecting laterally from the opposite sides of said plates are the wings 2, which form the props for the upper and lower teeth to rest on and for holding the mouth open when the instrument is placed therein. Attached to said wings at or near their outer ends are the upper and lower arms 3. Formed integral upon the upper of said arms is a curved and upwardly-inclined plate I, adapted to serve asadistender for the upper lips. Formed integral in like manner upon the lower of said arms is a curved downwardly-extending plate 5, adapted to hold the lower lips away from the teeth in the manner of the upper plate 4:, as shown in Fig. 2.

When in use, the device is to be placed in the mouth of the patient so that the teeth of the upper and lower jaw will engage the wings 2, holding the device in place. The position of the device when placed in the mouth brings the plate 1 to the rear of the teeth being operated upon, preventing injury to the tongue by the slipping of an instrument and protecting the teeth from the moisture of the breath while the work is being done. The position of the prop in the mouth is designed to be such that the upper and lower plates 4 and 5, carried by the arms 3 distend the lips so as to hold them away from the teeth, giving the operator better opportunity to work on the teeth.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

An improved article of manufacture, comprising a mouth-prop, wings projecting from the sides thereof, arms and lip-protectors extending from the wings; stamped from a single piece of sheet metal.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affiXed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY C. CUTTER, TIDELLA T. MoALIsTER. 

